D186's quarter-billion plan

Pete Sherman

Tuesday

Mar 25, 2008 at 12:01 AMMar 25, 2008 at 9:30 PM

A couple notes on the $250 million-worth of proposed building projects for District 186. IF – and that’s a big IF – the comments following my story about the proposals truly reflect public opinion, it will be worth taking a look at the district’s administrative costs. It seems that a number of readers believe the district is top-heavy. But apart from narrow, anecdotal evidence, the case that this is so has not been made. Still, it’s worth checking out. This happens to be an investigation I am working on. Expect to see a story about this in a couple weeks.

Other issues are the extent to which district facilities are truly in need of substantial repair vs. how a facility’s environment affects learning. I happened on a few studies that shed some light on this. Reading them, I learned that children breathe in more air than adults, which means air-quality matters more for them than for grown-ups. Also, one study found that nearly half of all teachers who transfer schools and nearly 40 percent of teachers who quit teaching cite the quality of their school building and the need for repairs as sources of dissatisfaction.

Certainly, there’s a domino effect here. Nicer buildings attract quality teachers, who help kids learn and who manage their classrooms well. At the same time, if kids feel better in a building that’s well lit, has cleaner air, less mold, etc., they’re going to be more responsive to the better teacher. The results are compounding.

But in any case, there’s no single panacea. You need nice buildings, good teachers, strong (and smart) leadership, parents with high expectations and a community that believes in the whole-scale impact of a strong school system.

Of course, there are many other issues at play with these proposals. How well-aligned will they be with the district's educational plans? Many are proposing consolidating the district's three high schools into two, instead of replacing two of three. The board and School Superintendent Walter Milton are facing some huge decisions.

A couple notes on the $250 million-worth of proposed building projects for District 186. IF – and that’s a big IF – the comments following my story about the proposals truly reflect public opinion, it will be worth taking a look at the district’s administrative costs. It seems that a number of readers believe the district is top-heavy. But apart from narrow, anecdotal evidence, the case that this is so has not been made. Still, it’s worth checking out. This happens to be an investigation I am working on. Expect to see a story about this in a couple weeks.

Other issues are the extent to which district facilities are truly in need of substantial repair vs. how a facility’s environment affects learning. I happened on a few studies that shed some light on this. Reading them, I learned that children breathe in more air than adults, which means air-quality matters more for them than for grown-ups. Also, one study found that nearly half of all teachers who transfer schools and nearly 40 percent of teachers who quit teaching cite the quality of their school building and the need for repairs as sources of dissatisfaction.

Certainly, there’s a domino effect here. Nicer buildings attract quality teachers, who help kids learn and who manage their classrooms well. At the same time, if kids feel better in a building that’s well lit, has cleaner air, less mold, etc., they’re going to be more responsive to the better teacher. The results are compounding.

But in any case, there’s no single panacea. You need nice buildings, good teachers, strong (and smart) leadership, parents with high expectations and a community that believes in the whole-scale impact of a strong school system.

Of course, there are many other issues at play with these proposals. How well-aligned will they be with the district's educational plans? Many are proposing consolidating the district's three high schools into two, instead of replacing two of three. The board and School Superintendent Walter Milton are facing some huge decisions.

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